NEWTON NJ ROTARY CLUB - Starts 96th Year
On May 15 this Club begins it’s 96th year. It was chartered in 1923.
The Club has close to 100 members and is the largest in the district.
It started with 18 charter members. They were drawn from a wide circle of industries. Those early categories included: silk merchant, shoe manufacturer; lawyer and hotel owner. It seems the only category that has survived and prospered has been the “lawyers”.
New clubs must be sponsored by an existing club. Bill Chapman (in the early 1920’s) worked for Standard Oil and was a member of the Denville Rotary Club, at the time. His business brought him to the area, where he met many local business people. On several of these trips, he mentioned the formation of a Newton club.
When the club was established, they met in the main dining room of the former Cochran House. The hotel/restaurant was owned, by Charles Hendershot, who was one of the charter members. It was not coincidental, then, that the club continued to meet there for 33 years.
Lunch, in those early days was $ .50
In 1957, the club moved to Wilber’s Newtonian Inn, now know as the Hampton Diner. Luncheons were held there for 34 years until the club moved to the Lafayette House, in 1991. After 25 years the Club moved, this year, to the Spring Street Grill. …. So it looks like this will be home for a long time.
The Club has sponsored several other clubs, in the area. These clubs, in turn, sponsored other local clubs. Currently, there are six clubs in the county. Newton Rotary is proud of the fact that it was the seed for many of them.
Over the years, there have been many memorable events and local people connected and associated to the Club.
- Newman Drake purchased and donated land, in 1928, that eventually became Memory Park. He was the founder of the Drake Baking Co… you know DRAKES CAKE. For your info, he lived on Linwood Ave, next door to Janice’s house. The current owner of Drakes recently presented a $20,000 check to the Town to refurbish this park.
- Harry Jones, who started Grand Union Stores, made substantial gifts for the establishment of the Newton Municipal Pool.
- Our first community project in 1923, was the establishment of a Boy Scout troop.
- We donated a tractor to Equator in 1962 and a used fire truck to The Bahamas in 1965
- We donated a rest room to Ft Dix in 1943
- We published the book “Sussex County – A History
- In 2018 the Club made a major contribution to provide flowers to the town.
The Club was also very instrumental in establishing the Newton Hospital. Early members provided the land as well as the initial capital for its establishment.
Various types of equipment were also donated, over the years. Among them was a 1937, La Salle ambulance that was used until 1951. In fact this vehicle was later used in several scenes of the GODFATHER.
Since 2000 over $200,000 has been donated to the Hospital with another $100,000 pledged for the future.
Other significant local contributions, since 2000, include over $75,000 for scholarships to local students. In fact, all community donations, since 2000, have exceeded $500,000 and over $1,000,000 since 1923.
Significant Past Members Included:
Ernie Wallace - local jeweler
Dr Dorset Spurgeon – local physician
Harry Jones – Banker & merchant
Lewis Dolan - Lawyer
George Condit - Auto Sales
Sylvester Fletcher - Soil Scientist
The Club looks forward to continuing its traditions of community service, into the future.
Guests and prospective members are invited to join us on Wednesdays: Spring Street Grill @ 12:15 $15.00 Newton, NJ